Intro For New Players
Expect it to be confusing at first. It will probably take a while to get your feet wet/feel somewhat comfortable. Summary (the quickie version) (based-on, with permission, jason_ac's Newbie Guide) Visit the wiki from time to time, these tips are always being updated. After you've launched the game and it's downloaded any outstanding patches, do the ground & vehicle Tutorials (added by patch 1.50). Give up on the flight Tutorial the minute you're finding it too difficult. Staying alive in the air in-game is hard so when you first start playing you're just going to be sticking to the ground anyway. Buy the Warhawk Booster Packs off the PSN Store so you have the extra maps & vehicles so you can play any game (there's a $16 bundle for all 3). Consider taking a spare controller and trying a few 2-player experiments in offline games you create yourself. Look over all the instructions for the game, free new game modes, & the booster packs. Then go online and join a "Rookie" server (whose name will be in a green font). Filter to show only servers with either Team Deathmatch or Capture the Flag, whichever you like most. If CTF, stay at home and be a flag defender. Spend your time in a turret, and running around on foot. Other tips, explanations, and facts for new players can be found by reading this entire article, and the main Game Tips and Tricks article. General Strategies for first games (based-on, with permission, jason_ac's Newbie Guide) Here's what you'll need to know, in roughly the order you'll need to know it in. Visit the wiki from time to time, these tips are always being updated. Get the game cheap! I've seen it at Target for $30 WITH headset. You can also use any cell phone's Bluetooth earpiece with the game, and there are USB headsets that work with it too. Get the latest patch Make sure you're running the latest patch. If you install and startup the game, it should automatically prompt you to download the latest one, which as of Dec. 2008 is # 1.50. Finish the tutorials...or no? Completing the flight portion of the tutorial is tougher than completing the ground and vehicle tutorials. Since flight online is rather challenging (you will be shot down VERY frequently), and you will probably start out on the ground anyway, you may wish finish the ground & vehicle tutorials, then give up on the flight Tutorial the minute you're finding it too difficult. Play your first online games on the ground. The converse to that advice is to start digging into flying from the get-go. Since it will take so long to get good at it, the sooner you start, the sooner you'll be good. But if you are someone who prefers ground, or initially is finding flying to be frustrating, then don't fly for now. Add-On packs...or no? In the PlayStation Network Store, Sony sells add-on "booster" packs for the full Warhawk game that include new maps and vehicles. While many standard games can be played online without any problem, if you finish an online round and the next game uses an add-on that you don't own, you will be forced off the server. Your options are to either buy the add-on packs and you'll have complete freedom (there's a $16 bundle of all 3), or set a set a filter on your Server List so that you're only shown servers for which you have "All Maps Resident". Or accept being auto-booted every so often. If you don't have a credit card, head out to a store and buy a PlayStation Network gift card. As of Dec. 2008, no new booster packs or new game are expected anytime soon, so if you buy them your purchase isn't going to become obsolete anytime soon. Play online or offline? Most Warhawk play is online. But while learning, you may wish to create a local game with just yourself to experiment (there are no bots though). You can drive or fly around the maps to familiarize yourself. If you have 2-4 controllers, you can split the screen and now you'll have enemies (that you control) to experiment with in more ways. If you have 2-4 friends, you can learn a little offline, together, by playing offline games against each other. And, when you go online, those same 2-4 friends can still split the screen with you and all 4 of you can play in the same physical room in an online game against human opponents from around the world (in unranked servers only). Look at the manuals You should look through the instructions...there's the original game manual, instructions for the free new game modes, and instructions for the expansion booster packs. You can find all of these in the article Warhawk Help Cheating? Generally speaking, Warhawk has very few bugs and opportunities to cheat. However, there are some loopholes in how the game works that some players have figured-out how to exploit to gain an advantage. Some players feel "anything goes", you should use every un-patched bug and glitch you can exploit, that's just the game. Others feel you're cheating if you're stepping that far out of the realm of what the game was intended to be, using advantages that are extremely difficult to counter. If you ever learn any of these exploits, well, you probably already know which camp you'd be in. Another form of cheating is finding ways to "game" the ranking system to rise in the ranks faster (stat-padding, etc). Be aware, the developer has decreed this as cheating and if you're caught, an arbiter might reset your rank, ban you, etc. Which Servers? Initially, play only on "Rookie" servers whose names are all in a green font (those are official, ranked servers, limited just to newer players), or on player-created white or yellow/gold-colored servers that have player-rank limits, so you're not playing against very advanced veterans. Player created servers may be rank/stat-tracking, or unranked. Of course, some VERY good players can be found even on rank-limited servers. In some cases these are veterans who have created alternate PSN IDs. Friendly Fire is turned-off on Rookie servers, so you won't hurt a teammate if you accidentally fire a rocket at him. Some advise graduating to the blue "Standard" servers as soon as you can, as they feel they find more teamwork there. To learn more about server types, colors, interpreting their names, and their settings, see the article on servers. I'm Red Team?!? I thought I was Blue!?! On many servers, after the end of each game the server randomly re-organizes the teams. So last round you might've been on red team shooting alongside Mr.KillDeath, and this round you might on blue team shooting AT him. Get used to it. You will sometimes get confused and head for the wrong base, shoot the wrong guys, etc. It happens. Here's a tip...if you are in-range of a person and hover the weapon reticle on them, if it's an enemy, it'll turn red, otherwise it won't. Try not to teamkill Even with Friendly Fire disabled, it is possible to accidentally teamkill...kill teammates. Try not to. You get negative points, annoy players, and, since excessive teamkilling would be a disruption of game flow, it would actually be a violation of Sony's Terms of Service. Don't worry too much about it, it's actually kind of hard for a beginner to accidentally teamkill, just be aware it's a bad thing. Which Game Mode for Beginners? You can filter your server list to only show you games of a certain type. You may wish to do so. Some Game Modes are a little simpler and you may find them an easier way to get started. *'Deathmatch' - Deathmatch is obviously a very simple mode and can let you practice fighting techniques without worrying much about strategy. Or Team Deathmatch which is similar but will be a little less free-for-all chaotic. *'Capture the Flag' - Another good beginner game mode is Capture the Flag. If you choose to stay near your home base as a flag defender, then the fight comes to you, you'll have teammates around, and you can help the team by getting good at killing flag grabbers. The drawback of course is that you're not learning the map, and, if there are significant lulls in attacks on your home flag (or anytime an opponent's managed to get away with it), then you're standing around idle not really helping your team. With any luck, you can still find some nearby enemies to hunt down. When you feel more capable, start going out and capturing bases. Then go for the other flag, or assist others. Use Your Mic Try and use the mic as much as possible for giving your team tips on where help is needed, or calling in air support if you have the flag. This is primarily a team game. To talk, press down L3 (the left analog stick) and talk. Each time you press the stick you will hear a quiet "squawking"/static burst that lets you know you've activated the mic. Also, when the mic is active, the speaker icon in the upper left corner of the screen will change from white to yellow. Some people like the Open Mic option, but if you were to choose that (please don't unless you have meaningful communication with your team at all times), please make sure you adjust your Mic Sensitivity to below 25%. If you have it at over 50%, everyone else will hear this constant gargling sound, and you'll end up getting muted. Run, Drive, Shoot, or Fly? As a beginner, some of the hardest tasks to master will be flying, or becoming expert with a tank. Some of the easiest skills you can develop will be manning a turret (simple as it is, there are things to learn about using turrets effectively), or developing your on-foot combat skills (there's a lot to learn to be a master on foot). *'Don't fly' - At first, don't start flying in a warhawk unless you have a high tolerance for being killed very frequently. You become extremely visible on the radar, and you will most likely be killed very quickly by another warhawk, soldier with a rocket launcher, or some anti-aircraft turret. Being killed so often can make it harder to learn. Enter at your own risk/frustration. *If you stay on the ground, you will learn some ideas about flying, as you will see the many ways pilots can avoid attacks from the ground, and ways they can take care of ground targets (vehicles, troops hiding in buildings, landmines at landing spots, etc). *'Yes, fly' - The converse to that advice is to start digging into flying from the get-go. Since it will take so long to get good at it, the sooner you start, the sooner you'll be good. But if you are someone who prefers ground, or initially is finding flying to be frustrating, then don't fly for now. If flying is what excites you, be sure to take a look at the warhawk article for tips on flying. Of course, one day you'll probably have to learn ground combat anyway...which certainly presents a challenge. *'Take a seat?' - If you want to start really easy (not flying), you might start by just getting your feet wet in a stationary turret. *'Start running' - On foot you can learn ground-pounder combat skills. It's a Good Day to Die Take a risk! Your life is cheap. In team-oriented games you can personally earn the most points by doing the things that help your team win. Better to die over and over again in the course of accomplishing team goals then to sit around obsessing over your Kills/Death ratio (your Points per Minute are much more telling). To see how to earn points & bonus points, visit the Points article. Basic "Grounder" Facts and Controls (based-on, with permission, jason_ac's Newbie Guide) Weapons You always start with a Pistol with unlimited ammo (though it does require reloading), 2 grenades, and a Knife. Ground-pounders shouldn't leave home without at least an Automatic Rifle Pickup (machine gun-looking pickup with dark blue outline) and another Grenades pickup (canister-looking pickup with the green outline). You can carry a maximum of 6 grenades, each pickup gives you 2, and the pickups respawn pretty quickly. The Portable Rocket Launcher Pickup (long pickup with an orange outline) makes a great anti-warhawk and anti-tank weapon. Backpacks: Always pickup backpacks left by fallen soldiers. You will get whatever weapons they were carrying, and it will partially replenish any health you have lost. Basic Buttons R1 is your favorite button. It is the default fire button for everything. (soldier, tank, warhawk, etc..) The Square button is your 2nd favorite. It is the "Action" button, and what you use to climb a ladder, get in/out of a tank/jeep/warhawk, etc... "Camouflage" If you crouch (press the circle button), the bright red or blue badge above your head disappears, and then the only way for an enemy to determine if you're on their team or not is to point a weapon at you (since the reticle will turn red). Or on servers with no Friendly Fire, just shoot you and see if it injures you. With no badge, crouching may let you get closer to an enemy before his "alarm bells" go off, especially if you approach gradually from a direction he isn't paying a lot of attention to. You may also find people crouching in other situations, hoping you won't realize until too late that they're an enemy. It's also easier to hide behind things when you don't have a big badge over your head. If you crouch, with no badge above your head, it's harder for warhawks to notice you from above or for snipers to pin-point you from a distance (it also helps if you don't stand still out in the open!). Anytime you plan to stand still for any amount of time, crouch if at all possible. In addition, your shooting is more accurate when you're crouching. Radar/Map/Mini-map If you're walking around on foot, you show up on the maps when you shoot, throw a grenade, etc. You also show up when an enemy is A) somewhat close to you; and B) has you roughly in his field of vision (or is aiming at you). However, attacking with the knife does not cause you to show up on the maps. All these facts together mean, just like in a real battlefield, you can't blithely walk around with any assurance that any area is safe, or empty. The maps are, in some respects, audio maps, they're not human-detecting radar systems. If you make noise, people know where you are. If you're quiet, they don't. Unless they're looking at you. So you have to be aware of where enemies may hide, because you could walk by a corner that has an enemy aiming a rifle at you, and if you don't look around carefully, you'll never know it until he opens fire on you. And if they surprise you and kill you with a knife, your teammates will get no warning there's an enemy nearby, since the knife is quiet, and doesn't show on the maps. This explains why you may find enemies crouching in buildings in your team's bases, wielding a knife. They're looking for a surprise kill that gives no warning to your teammates. Good Habits * Take down a few enemy warhawks when you get a chance. Grounders need air support, your team needs aerial presence, and pilots appreciate ground support. * Land Mines: Place a few strategic land mines (you can only have 4 active on the ground at once, when you place a 5th, your 1st one disappears)...and shoot any enemy land mines you see (those mines emit a light in the opposing team's color). * Air Mines: Shoot enemy air mines out of the air (if you're blue team, shoot the spiked "red reamers", if you're red team, shoot the rounded, non-spiked "blue balloons"). Don't shoot if a friendly warhawk is hovering next to the mine. But if it's an enemy, do! Taking Out the Big Boys On foot you can take out a tank with the Flame Thrower or a few Portable Rockets. Alternate with tossing a few grenades. You can take out warhawks with a few Portable Rockets. Nothing scares a warhawk trying to shoot you like you launching a missile towards it. If the warhawk is close and you're under assault, don't wait for the Rocket Launcher to lock-on. Just "dumb-fire" the rocket right at the warhawk. For more information, see details in the complete list of Weapons and Vehicles Fighting Soldiers On-Foot (G2G = Ground to Ground) Shooting people in the head kills them faster than in the body. When engaged in a 1-on-1 ground battle soldier-to-soldier, while firing your gun, continuously throw grenades at your enemy using L1 (having the full load of 6 grenades is really handy here). If your enemy is not up close, the Automatic Rifle may be your best bet for killing them (equip the rifle by pressing Right on the d-pad) If they are within approximately 10 feet, the Flame Thrower is awesome for killing them quickly. (equip the Flame Thrower by pressing Up + Left on the d-pad) If they are right next to you, you can kill them with one hit using your Knife. (equip the Knife by pressing Down on the d-pad) The Pistol can fire as fast as you can press it and has unlimited ammo (though it does need to be reloaded)! (equip the Pistol by pressing Left on the d-pad). Reload! A good idea for soldier weapons, jeeps, and turrets, remember to reload when there's a break in the action by pressing the weapon's appropriate button on the d-pad (excluding the flamethrower, sniper rifle, and binoculars). Turrets There are 2 types of turrets: AA_Turret and Missile Turret. They're easy to use, but if you find yourself sitting idle too much, get out and try some ground combat. Both turrets have their reticle turn red when an enemy aircraft is in range. * Flak Turret - The Anti-Aircraft turret shoots flak out rapidly, and can shoot about 25 times before needing to reload. This type of turret can also damage other large ground targets, like tanks and other turrets. * Missile Turret - The Missile Turret shoots two missiles at once and then needs to reload. Hold down R1 once an enemy is in range to get a lock (takes approx 3 secs), then release it to fire the missiles. These missiles can also be dumb-fired, and are effective at attacking slow-moving tanks and other turrets. Tips for both turret types *'Reduce your visibility' - When you enter a turret, you are visible on the map to everyone. This means pilots can decide to come after you, and ground troops can decide to take you out as well. It may be useful to regularly leave and re-enter a turret. If you exit it while it's reloading (or re-generating it's "health" subsequent to an attack), then you're not going to show up on radar and so can avoid being a big ole' target. Then, when it's all ready for action again (or if you see some choice targets coming your way), hop back in. *'Run fast!' - If you come under fire, it's usually a bad idea to try to get off "one last shot". Run from the turret! *'Reload!' - Remember to reload when there's a break in the action (press any direction on the D-pad). Frequently Asked Questions (by new players) (Note: The FAQ for less-new players is over on the Warhawk Help page. Are People Still Playing? Yes. Visit the official forums, and see this active players chart courtesy of myhawk.org. And since any player can host a game, as long as there are players, there will be games to join. How Do I Use My Booster Packs? Many people who have bought the booster packs wonder how to use them. Whoever sets up the game server decides what maps are going to be played upon. If the map "uses"/requires a booster pack, then you'll be using that booster pack while playing on the map. So, in a sense, you do nothing to use them. They're used automatically based on the decisions made by the person who set the game up. How do you know if you're using a booster pack? 3 ways: *If you're playing on one of the 3 special maps that only came with the booster packs, you're using one. *If you notice in-game equipment that only came in the booster packs, you're using one. *In the map name, if you see 1 or more asterisks (i.e.--a *) at the end of the map name, it means that map is using booster content. ::One asterisk (signifying 1st released booster pack) means Omega Dawn booster is in use. ** means the 2nd booster, Broken Mirror. *** means the 3rd booster, Fallen Star As for instructions on how to use booster pack equipment, see Warhawk Help Category:Game Help and Tips